Celebrating a Year of Marriage – Reflections and Updates
As we celebrated our first anniversary last month, it’s been heartening to reflect back on our journey together this past year. This year has been a tapestry of joy, growth, and shared experiences that have enriched our marriage and deepened our relationship in so many ways.
The start of our married life, moving to Swinefleet and starting new jobs has been an adventure in itself. We’ve had ups and downs in getting used to living together as we expected! But it’s been truly wonderful growing together as we figure out how to be a good team.
Settling into our new home has been a lovely process, filled with furnishing, decorating, and making the space our own, so it feels like home. We’ve also put a lot of love into our garden. Seeing the fruits of our labour—literally—has been incredibly rewarding, having been able to harvest many strawberries, blueberries, gooseberries, plums, pears, blackberries, and raspberries. It’s been a bit of a dream stepping outside to pick fresh fruit from the garden.
Ben’s curacy at St John’s Church in Goole has been a central aspect of our life here. There have been so many meaningful experiences—from his leading around 30 funerals and about 12 baptisms to running an Alpha course together with Hannah. Each experience has been a testament to the power of the Holy Spirit, and the community we’re in. Ben’s ordination as a priest on 29th June 2024, was such a special occasion with both our families being here, marking a significant milestone in his ministry journey.
Hannah has wanted to be very involved with the ministry in the church in the ways she feels called to be, through pastoral care, prayer and worship. And we have both so enjoyed getting to know the wonderful community here, right from the get-go feeling welcomed and supported.
For Ben, leading the Remembrance Day service in Goole was another standout experience. Seeing thousands of people gather to honour and remember was so moving. The public way so many people in this town honour those who have lost their lives in war is different from anywhere we’ve experienced before.
Christmas was another highlight, Hannah’s parents – Jane and Ian came up and stayed for Christmas week, which was wonderful! Ben enjoyed leading the Christmas Day service. The joy and warmth of the congregation made it a really fun occasion, filled with festive cheer and spiritual reflection.
With Goole being a port, we often get seafarers coming through, and it has been a great opportunity for St Johns to partner with the Mission to Seafarers – connecting up with the crews when they are in port here. Ben has started visiting the ships and getting to chat with the crew which has been a particular highlight and he looks to much more in the future.
Hannah has been doing a few part time jobs at the same time this year. She started a small Musical Theatre teaching job in North Ferriby for secondary school-aged children on Friday evenings. It’s been very challenging as she has been learning how to teach on the job, but she’s receieved a huge amount from doing it, and has had a lot of fun moments and lovely people to remember from it. The year culminated in a wonderful end-of-year production called “FEAD the Soul”, however, she has decided to finish this job at the end of July, and will be looking for other opportunities going forward.
In addition to her teaching role, Hannah continued her work with DECIBEL Training, though knowing it was a temporary position, she had been searching for a more permanent job more locally. In February, she secured a new role as the Ministry Experience Scheme Coordinator for the Diocese of Sheffield! The whole team is fantastic that she is working with. She’s really loving coordinating the scheme, talking with people in different churches around Sheffield, meeting applicants, and arranging tailored plans for each participant. She’s currently preparing things for the participants who will start in September.
Outside of work, Hannah’s also been enjoying the local gym as a chance to get to know people, as well as helping her stay fit. She loves the culture there, and has been particularly enjoying the classes. We have both been doing a lot of running together, and try to make it to the local ParkRun when we can pull ourselves out of bed!
Of course we mustn’t forget the big trip we both went on to Japan in April! It was beautiful to see the cherry blossoms in full bloom and to see the wonderful sights of Tokyo, Kyoto and Nagoya. It was a particularly special time getting to spend time with Hannah’s sister Naomi who was an excellent tour guide and impressed us everyday with the best food Japan had to offer!
The Alpha course was a significant highlight for us both, with what started as 12 participants grew as people began bringing their friends along. The Holy Spirit Day was really exciting to be part of, with many experiencing spiritual encounters in a new way or for the first time. The course fostered a sense of community and spiritual growth, which has had a lasting impact on our church with many joining in regularly in the life of the church following the course.
Ben has continued his passion for family tree research, making new discoveries about his ancestors, particularly the Grist and Bayliss families. Reconnecting with second cousins on the Grist side has been a heartwarming experience, adding another layer of richness to our family story.
Reflecting on this past year, we are so grateful for the growth and experiences we’ve shared. Our journey together has been enriched by our community, our faith, and the love we have for each other.
We are really looking forward to continuing building our life in Goole, and serving our community and we are committed to living out our faith and going where we feel God is leading us. Thank you for being a part of our journey. Here’s to another wonderful year!